Court case on affirmative action to have minimal impact in N.H.

Thursday

Oct 11, 2012 at 3:15 AM

From STAFF AND WIRE REPORTSnews@fosters.com

DURHAM — The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a case this week that could change admissions practices at colleges and universities across the country, but its consequences are likely to be minimal in New Hampshire.The Supreme Court is once again considering the issue of whether school admissions officers should take race into account when they make decisions about prospective students.In its last two major affirmative action decisions, in 1978 and 2003, the court essentially took universities at their word when they argued it’s impossible to achieve adequate racial diversity without factoring race into admissions.The issue was brought before the court once again Wednesday in a case that pits the University of Texas against a white college applicant who was rejected by the school in 2008. The outcome of the case could have far-reaching effects, including new limits on affirmative action.University of New Hampshire Admissions Director Robert McGann said Wednesday it’s unlikely the case will have an impact on admissions at UNH, since an existing state law bans the school from considering race in admissions. New Hampshire is one of seven states that have banned racial preferences in admissions outright. The others are Washington, Michigan, Nebraska, Arizona, California and Florida.“We’re in essence prohibited from considering race overtly in the admissions process,” said McGann, who is also the school’s assistant vice president for student and academic services.In two other states, Texas and Georgia, leading public universities use a race-neutral system. However, the University of Texas has maintained some use of affirmative action, and it’s that policy at UT that’s now before the Supreme Court.On Wednesday, the court’s conservatives cast doubt on the program, which uses race as one among many factors in admitting about a quarter of the university’s incoming freshmen. The liberal justices appeared more supportive of the effort.Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose vote could be decisive, looked skeptically on Texas’ defense of the program. “What you’re saying is what counts is race above all,” Kennedy said. He has never voted in favor of an affirmative action program but has voiced support for diversity in education.The university says the program is necessary to provide the kind of diverse educational experience the high court has previously endorsed. Along with race, the university considers community service, work experience, extracurricular activities, awards and other factors as it seeks to fill out its incoming classes. The bulk of its slots go to students who are admitted based on their high school class rank, without regard to race.Opponents of the program say the university is practicing illegal discrimination by considering race at all, especially since the school achieves significant diversity through its race-blind admissions.McGann said most school admissions officers in the country agree race and ethnicity should be considered in admissions decisions because students of different backgrounds have unequal opportunities. The country has pockets in which poverty is heavily concentrated in minority communities, McGann said, leading to an increase in the number of students per classroom in those communities and a decrease in services.“Despite efforts made in this country over the last 40 or 50 years, educational inequalities continue to exist, and they manifest themselves in a variety of ways,” he said.McGann said schools also find a “real educational value and benefit” from having diverse campuses. Research shows students benefit from learning in environments where multiple perspectives and experiences are represented, he said.At UNH, about 8 percent of students are members of racial and ethnic minorities recognized by the federal government as being underrepresented on school campuses. McGann said although the school cannot admit students using race as a factor, it does work with high schools and community organizations to encourage all students to look at UNH seriously. The school can also target students whose parents have not attended college with literature about UNH.“I think there might be some very dramatic and unintended consequences for other states if the Supreme Court declines to support using race as a factor in admission,” McGann said.Foster’s Daily Democrat staff writer Jim Haddadin contributed to this report.

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